This invention relates to equipment for supporting and handling articles, particularly meat products, in manufacturing and for supporting pork bellies during processing to form slabs of bacon.
In the slaughtering or butchering of hogs the various portions or cuts into which the animal carcass is divided are prepared for marketing by meat packers and processors according to the type of cut and the form in which it is desired to present it to the consumer. Generally, cuts known as pork bellies are processed by suspending them for a predetermined time in a processing area, such as a smoke house, or similar curing area, where they are converted into slabs of bacon which may be supplied to the consumer in a solid piece or cut into slices after sizing and packaged to provide the familiar sliced bacon package.
In the conventional slaughtering and processing operation, pork bellies are transported from the receiving or cutting area to an area where they are located onto bacon hangers, which serve to support the bellies on a tree or rack while they are being processed. When the processing or curing is completed, the bacon slabs are removed from the hangers enabling reuse of the latter.
The bacon hangers which have been provided heretofore have been formed with pointed prongs or teeth arranged as in a comb on a common plane and mounted on a frame depending from a bracket member which is shaped or otherwise formed for engaging an overhead rail, track bar, smokestick or the like. Generally, the hangers have been constructed so that the hanger teeth or prongs can be readily inserted into the relatively soft area along the top ends (typically called the brisket end) of the bellies by pressing the teeth into the same. Some portion of the frame may serve as a handle for gripping the hanger while guiding the teeth into the meat. The end points of pointed prongs of the previous bacon hangers were generally in the same plane.
The top end of the pork bellies consists mostly of fat and a muscle called the cutaneous trunci (CT) muscle. This muscle extends through a substantial part of the length of the pork belly. The CT muscle is relatively small at the top portion of the belly becoming larger as it extends down the length of the belly. The amount of the CT muscle that appears in the final sliced product determines whether or not the product meets a lean specification. Most often, the prongs of the present hangers are arranged in a common plane such that when they are inserted into the top end of the pork belly they fail to engage the CT muscle, engaging mostly fat. Because the CT muscle extends for most of the length of the pork belly and is stronger and more denser than fat, it is desirable that at least one pair of prongs penetrate the CT muscle thus providing support for the entire belly. Additionally, during processing, the CT muscle shrinks affecting the amount of muscle in the final product, thus affecting yield. Without engaging the supporting CT muscle, the CT muscle shrinks and the pork bellies elongate on the hangers as they are processed. This elongation is undesirable because it causes a higher density of fat in the top section. This higher density of fat causes this top section to fail to meet the lean specifications established for the final processed product, resulting in a section with minimal or no commercial value, therefore, reducing product yield. Further, the elongation of the pork bellies on the hanger causes physical clearance problems as the bellies move along during processing.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a hanger such that the device is not disposed to the disadvantages of the prior art.